Things I'm pondering this morning...

range widely.  Some of them I may have discussed before, and if I'm boring you with the same rant a second time, I apologize.

I'm pondering people texting in traffic.  Not when traffic is at a standstill, or crawling.  Last night I was on the 405 and it was miraculously moving in one spot at nearly 55 mph.  There was a woman, holding her steering wheel with her elbows and using both hands to text with a clearly visible phone.  Where was the CHP?

I'm pondering people who drive alone in the HOV lane who don't have one of those "it's okay to drive alone in that lane" stickers on the back of their car.  Is their need to get where they are going worth risking a ticket that is more than $340??

I'm pondering why people get upset when they get what they say they wanted.  Someone in the dining room asked for a special meal.  You have to order them three hours in advance and the choices are limited.  Now the menus are printed a week in advance and if there are any changes on that day, there's a board where they are posted.  So this person got their special meal and was very upset because the rest of us were getting something that wasn't on the printed menu.  Now the item we were getting had been posted on the menu board all day long.  The menu board is less than ten feet from where you put in the special request 'chit' and is almost impossible to miss.  So why is it the facility's fault that she didn't look at the menu board?  She got what she asked for and she still wasn't happy.

I'm pondering passive-aggressive behavior.  Not sure if I'm pondering it because I'm wondering if I've finally managed to overcome it in myself, or because I'm seeing it in others. 

I'm pondering why in the world anyone cares if two people of the same gender choose to get married.  How does that impact the life of anyone else in any signifcant way?  Here's hoping the Supreme Court overturns DOMA and upholds the ruling that Prop 8 is unconstitutional.

I'm pondering if PSY's popularity and the affection for "gangnam style" is going to plummet now.  It's the same song it was before, the same dance it was before.  But then again, he isn't the same person as before, at least not in the minds of Americans who will be highly offended by his anti-American sentiments of less than ten years ago.  Advocating the killing of Americans just doesn't sell well, does it?

I'm pondering how it is that a show like "Duck Dynasty" on the A&E network could possibly outdraw "The X Factor" on Fox the other night.  More people wanted to watch the excesses of a family that makes millions from making duck calls than young, attractive singers being savaged by Simon Cowell and his panel of "experts"?  In fact, now I'm pondering how it is that Britney Spears has any room to evaluate someone else's SINGING.  Dancing, entertaining, maybe.  But she really can't sing.

I'm pondering why it is I hate to shop for clothes, something I have to do in the next 48 hours.

This Date in History:

On this date in 1660, a woman appeared on an English public stage for the first time, in a production of a Shakespeare play.
On this date in 1854, Pope Pius IX issued the dogmatic definition of "Immaculate Conception".
On this date in 1962, workers at four New York City newspapers go on strike.  Workers at five more papers would join the strike that lasted 114 days.
On this date in 1980, John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman.
On this date in 1987, the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed.
On this date in 1991, Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine sign a document dissolving the Soviet Union and creating the Commonwealth of Independent States
On this date in 1993, President Bill Clinton signs NAFTA.

And for Lakers fans, today is Dwight Howard's birthday.  He was born on this date in 1985.  Apparently people born on December 8th are not good free throw shooters.